Early Bloom
by emotivism
Summary: "My name is Sakura Haruno. My interests are taijutsu, and learning new techniques to utilize chakra. I like my friends and my family. I dislike broken promises. My goal is...to find my sister." Sakura grows up with wayward parents, but at least she'll always have her big sister, right? SI!OC.
1. Chapter 1

**chapter one **

When she's able to organize her thoughts in a clear manner, sometimes she gets an itching sensation in what feels like her brain when she sees certain people or certain things. She's what, a few months old now? A year old? She never knows what causes the itch in her brain, but needs to find out. Sometimes the itch is so intense it makes her squirm.

"Look at, Tsu-chan, she's truly your daughter," her mother's laughter brings her attention back to her parents. "She's so serious looking. What are you thinking about, Tsubaki?"

Tsubaki has her mother's hair, though a richer pink colour to her mother's pale, almost white hair—and yes, she was named after the plant her hair took its colouring from. From her father she has his blue eyes, and what she has come to learn his perpetual deadpan expression.

She looks at her father, who has his usual impassive face, then back at her smiling mother.

"Head," she tells them, placing a hand on the spot on her head that makes her squirm sometimes. "Itchy."

At first, they worry she might somehow have dry scalp, or worse head lice. But when she manages to clarify she's talking about the inside of her head, there are many, many visits to various doctors and specialists. Time after time there were no conclusive results. She was fine, they told her parents. She was healthy.

As to not worry her parents, she tries to manage it herself. She finds taking a deep breath and refocusing her thoughts help a little.

* * *

Tsubaki loves nature. Konohana, with its vast variety of trees, flowers, and other plant life kept her outside and occupied until the sun went down. When she turned five, she was allowed to wander the village without her parents in present (but only during the daytime). She visited as many forests, gardens, and parks as her small feet could carry her.

The ninja clan compounds, she came to learn, had the best greenery. It bothers her to no end that she was not permitted to wander their forests and gardens. She hates how secretive and guarded the ninja were.

Nature is something to be shared, she thinks with a sad look as she passes the Yamanaka's bursting gardens. She doesn't linger too long for fear of being shooed away by a clan member.

Perhaps the worst was the training grounds. So much land used for what? For the exclusive use of those looking to excel in the art of murder. Training children, It wasn't fair sometimes. With a sad sigh, she heads over to less glamorous public park that had a small patch of sunflowers, a decent swing set, and a slide that she could not use now because the afternoon sun made it too hot to touch. It was a bit of a far park to get to, but she enjoyed the walk, especially because it was near the Uchiha compound. They had the most incredible evergreen trees that curved and contorted into beautiful shapes. When she first made her way, the Uchiwa fan decorating the exterior walls of the compound made her brain do that thing again. No visions, though, thankfully.

You're fine, she reminds herself. The doctors said you're healthy. You're fine.

Yet, when she passes by a young boy, perhaps no older than her, with onyx eyes, long black hair tied in a low ponytail, her brain itches and itches until she's seized with a vision of him older, standing over his dead parents and telling his younger brother to become stronger and kill—

Moments later, she realizes she passed out. She's in a hospital and her parents are hovering over her.

"Oh, Tsubaki," her mother cries, pulling her into her arms.

"What happened?" she looks over her mother's shoulder at her father. "What am I doing here?"

"You suddenly passed out near the Uchiha compound and was brought here," her mothers answers, pulling back and looking her over. "Is it that—are you feeling—"

"No," Tsubaki cuts in. "No. I….think I overheated."

Her parents looked unconvinced, but accept her lie anyway. But then, there's really nothing she can do when it happens for the second time the following week.

Her father has left for two weeks for a trading mission in the Land of Tea. He would usually make the trip with her mother, but after last week they abandon the thought of leaving Tsubaki without one of them home.

She's finally able to go outside again without her mother hovering worriedly around her. She's even sent to the market to pick up some spices her mother needs for dinner. As she makes her way, a woman with long red hair just barely brushes past her. Her mind is filled with images of this woman's last moments alive, of her husband fighting off a red fox with nine tails, of her cradling her newborn son who has been sealed with the fox and—

She wakes up again in a hospital.

The woman, who took her to the hospital, she comes to learn, is named Kushina Uzumaki, the wife of the Hokage.

"I don't know my own strength, ya know?" Kushina jokes, flexing her right arm as she explained to Tsubaki what happened. "We brushed right by each other and then—_bam_! You're on the floor." She pauses, and fixes Tsubaki with a stare. Then, something like realization dawns on her face. "Oh! You were the brat that Mikoto-chan's kid found passed out last week, weren't ya? She mentioned Itachi-kun finding a girl who passed out at the _sight _of him! Now, I know he's a cute kid and all, but ya know—"

Tsubaki frowns at her. Was she implying something? She was definitely implying something. "No, you actually _don't_—"

She feels her mother's hand descend on her shoulder and something about the gesture feels menacing. She looks at up and her, but her mother is smiling brightly at Kushina. "We're extremely thankful for you and Uchiha-san's help. We know how busy you must be and we hope Tsubaki here wasn't too trouble."

Ah right, Tsubaki thinks, manners. Right. She's the wife of the Hokage after all. Sick or not, her mother would kill her if she wasn't anything but the picture of politeness to elders, especially important ones.

"Ah, yes, thank you for your help," she mumbles.

Tsubaki is discharged with no conclusive results yet again. At this point, her mother desperate for _any _answer, takes her to the less scientifically inclined healers in the village. She feels like she has something of an answer when they visit the home of a small, white-haired old woman.

When the woman tells her she's got an imbalance of spiritual energy. Tsubaki thinks, yeah right as if the doctors and their technology couldn't catch that, but somehow this old woman could.

"Worry not," the woman tells them. "I've seen this once before in a small village that sits near the border of the Land of Fire. All of the villagers there had a similar imbalance to this young one."

Tsubaki wants to roll her eyes, but her mother takes the woman seriously. _Her and her damn need to respect elders._

"And?" her mother presses. "What is it?"

"I believe," the woman says, "Those villagers they—they knew too much for own good. Your daughter has their eyes."

Tsubaki wants to scoff. When the woman tells her she's can see the future, she does. She's rewarded with a smack in the back of her head from her mother.

* * *

At age six, her parents present her with two schooling options: a ninja school, or a civilian school. As they explain the differences between the two options, her brain itches and suddenly she's seeing an image of a young girl who looks strikingly similar to her attending the Academy. She takes a deep breath. For a while now, instead of just the itch she gets flashes of things. Memories? Visions? She doesn't quite know what to make of it, but at least it doesn't make her squirm anymore

Her parents look at her expectantly, awaiting her decision. Briefly she thinks how odd it is that her parents are giving her a choice to become a child soldier, or perhaps a merchant, like them.

"I want to go the civilian school," she says finally.

Her father looks impassive as always, but she notices his shoulders relax. She misses the flash of disappointment in her mother's eyes, though.

* * *

On the first day of school, her classmates avoid her like a plague declaring her to be "scary."

Tsubaki frowns. It makes things worse.

"_Aaiee!" _A boy flinches. "Don't hurt me!"

"I—" Tsubaki stops short. She has _pink_ hair. And she was _shorter _than the boy.

Still, she spends her first two lunch hours alone. It's fine though because she's able to clear out the playground for the most part. She's alone on the swing and something about it feels hilariously nostalgic.

_Ah yes, the emo swing, _she finds herself thinking and she then she frowns.

What?

_You've got bad vibes kid, _her mind suddenly supplies and Tsubaki nearly chokes. First that stupid itch, then these visions, now her _mind_ was speaking to her?

Belatedly she realizes a small girl with long brown hair tied in two pigtails is speaking to her. "What?"

The girl gulps loudly. Pointing at herself she declares, "I—I said, I will be your friend!"

"Why?"

"B-because I am the bravest girl in our class!"

There's a pause. Tsubaki realizes her classmates are staring at them. She looks at them, then back at Ume. "They put you up to this?"

"N-no!"

She squints at the girl. "You sure?"

Ume nods.

"Pull up a swing."

It turns out Ume wasn't a half bad kid. She had a little bit of a big head at times, but Tsubaki didn't mind her company. Afterwards, the other kids slowly began to warm up to her. Well, they stopped visibly flinching around her, anyway.

"Is my face really that scary?" Tsubaki one day asks Ume.

"Nah, it's because your mom was shinobi!"

"What?"

"Ohoho!" Ume lifts her hand and chuckles dramatically. "You see, my dear friend, Shinji's mom told Yuuta's mom that your mom was a shinobi and so he should stay away from bad influences like you. And, well, Yuuta has a big mouth, you know?" she nods sagely. "And so you, dear Tsubaki-chan, became the first rumour of the year!"

Her mom was a shinobi? Something about that made her brain itch.

"Don't worry about him, Tsubaki-chan," Ume assures her. "He's an idiot! I'm sure people will come around!"

At home she confronts her parents. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We didn't want you to feel pressured to do anything," her mother says, ruffling her hair.

"I feel like I don't know anything about you guys."

"You want to know more about us?" Her father rubs his chin, his face deadpan as always. "I love a woman who can kick my ass. That's why I married your mother."

Her mother slaps him cries out, "Language!"

Tsubaki quirks her lips.

* * *

Her mother is pregnant. Her parents seem almost nervous when they break the news to her. She internally rolls her eyes at them when they assure her that this baby would not take her place in any way and—and then suddenly she's no longer listening to them but lost in the visions of a pink haired girl her brain is suddenly firing at her.

She's seeing that same young girl she's seen before. Pink hair, and green eyes like her mother—_Sakura._ She sees Sakura about her age being bullied for the size of her forehead. She sees her budding friendship with a blonde child with blue eyes. She sees their friendship dissolve. She sees Sakura join a team of ninja. She sees her—

"Tsubaki? Tsubaki!" Her mother is shaking her shoulders. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she manages to say, a little breathless. "I'm fine."

* * *

Ume slams her head down onto the table and groans dramatically. "But _why_ must we learn such useless things!"

"Don't break the kitchen table," Tsubaki mutters, flipping to the next page of the textbook. It's late afternoon and they're in her kitchen, studying for their math test on Monday. Her parents were both out shopping while the two studied.

Ume lifts her head and glares at Tsubaki. "It's not my fault you're a genius who has a counting tray in her mind!"

Tsubaki feels her brain itch."You mean a calculator?"

"No." Ume shakes her head. "I mean a c_ounting tray_. Is that something you made up again?"

Tsubaki frowns. The itch was annoying, and the visions made her uncomfortable, but she genuinely felt worried whenever she would talk about objects she was sure existed—objects she could picture in her head—but no one had any idea what she was talking about.

"I just meant a calculating table," she assures Ume. "Now, what did you get for question five? I got twelve."

Ume groans again.

* * *

It's spring time when Sakura is born. Tsubaki stares down at the small baby in her mother's arms in awe. She was so tiny. Small tufts of pink hair, wide green eyes. She was perfect. Hesitantly, Tsubaki reaches out to her. When Sakura's whole hand grasps her finger something inside her shifts. Eyes wide, a fierce feeling of protectiveness for Sakura washes over her and—

Oh.

She frowns for a moment.

Oh shit. That woman was right. She—she _saw_ this didn't, she? In her _mind_. She saw—

"What's wrong, Tsu-chan?" Her father places a hand on her shoulder.

"Nothing," she mumbles.

Her mother looks worried. "Tsu-chan?"

She takes a deep breath, files away the thought. There's something of a tremble in her voice when she says, "I'm fine, she's—she's just so tiny!"

* * *

When Tsubaki's uncle Akashi moves back into Kohana and Sakura is being weaned off breast milk, both her parents instead of just her father begin taking off on trade trips. They usually last no more than two weeks, but Tsubaki can't help but feel a little hurt.

Sakura was still incredibly too young, and Tsubaki was only seven. Sure uncle Akashi stayed with Sakura until Tsubaki came from school, but she was still only _seven._ And Sakura was only a what? Six? Seven months? It was entirely too early for both of their parents to be gallivanting across the country while their young children stayed home alone.

_It might be why you never saw Sakura's parents before,_ her mind suddenly supplies. She freezes. She takes a deep breath and tries to fill her mind with thoughts of something else.

* * *

Months later it's a crisp, fall night and she's putting Sakura to bed. She plants a small kiss on Sakura's forehead and retires into her room. Life has become somewhat normal. She feels that itching sensation and hears that voice in her head less and less.

She heads to her window and opens it wide, enjoying the cool fall air. She found that her room had the best view of the village. She has a partial view of the entertainment district and loves to stare out at the pulsating lights. She can also see a sliver of the First Hokage's face craved into the mountain.

Suddenly, she sees a giant red fox with nine tails in the sky thrashing about violently.

_Well shit. _

She hopes that old woman wasn't dead because she definitely had some questions for her.

* * *

**A/N: **Fell down a rabbit hole of BAMF Sakura fics and SI-OC fics and then came this.


	2. Chapter 2

**chapter two **

It's early morning, and Tsubaki is making sweet thin pancakes with strawberries, chocolate syrup, and lots of whip cream the way Sakura likes it. She doesn't know what to call them, because they were different from the usual savoury pancakes she's had before. She sets the pancakes onto the table, admiring her handiwork. A small stack of the thin pancakes, an omelette, a bowl of fruit, orange juice, and milk sat on the table awaiting her little sister. It was a special birthday breakfast for the newly minted three-year-old.

Tsubaki sighs a little. Her baby sister was growing up. She couldn't help but wonder how could their parents just outright leave during the formative years of Sakura's life.

A year and seven months ago, their parents set off on what they promised would be a one-month trade mission. Their uncle Akashi checks in on them periodically, and their parents never failed to send Tsubaki a very generous monthly allowance, or gifts, or letters explaining why they needed to head to one more village and add a couple more weeks to their journey.

She tries to do the responsible thing and understand that this was her parent's livelihood and that it meant a lot of sacrifice and time away from them (she also tries to ignore why she finds the way child-rearing in this village just so alien and oft-putting—it wasn't like she knew of other examples outside of the way this village went about raising children, right?) But today being Sakura's third birthday and both of their parents not being here makes her stomach drop. And when she hears little Sakura busts into the kitchen looking around expectantly for someone before looking away with sad eyes and mumbling that she thought her wish of their parents returning would at least come true on her birthday, Tsubaki's heart breaks.

She walks over pulls Sakura into a hug. "Happy Birthday, little blossom."

"Thanks, big sis."

"Hey," Tsubaki says, ruffling Sakura's hair. "How about after breakfast we go outside to your favourite field this time?"

Sakura sniffles. "'Uh-huh."

The old woman's advice to Tsubaki was to mediate as a way to reign in her wayward spiritual energy. So, every morning before school, she used to sit in her room and calm her body, mind, and chakra. Before long, she began taking her mediation sessions outside, enjoying the sounds of the forests before the hustle and bustle of the village springing awake drowned these sounds out. After their parents left, Sakura began insisting on following her big sister everywhere and Tsubaki didn't have the heart to say no.

Sometimes, Sakura would sit in the grass and play quietly, or try to meditate with Tsubaki (she would always fall asleep, though). One day when she was cleaning their home, Tsubaki came across an old Academy katas textbook—their mother's. She remembers that Sakura will be school age soon and will likely decide to go to the Academy. She thinks about that one time Ume complained how unfairly the village treated civilian ninja when compared to clan ninja. Clan kids received early training and had access to more resources, and even the Academy did nothing to catch up civilian students to their clan counterparts.

So, Tsubaki has Sakura practice their mom's old Academy katas while she meditates. Sakura isn't great at them, but she's determined to master them, though. Tsubaki hopes the katas that they weren't too outdated, and she makes a mental note to try to seek out more resources for her. But when they arrive at Sakura's favourite field on her third birthday, somehow the resources sought them.

Tsubaki squats down at looks at Sakura. "So, when I'm meditating, what are you going to do again?"

"I'm gonna practice my katas really, really close by and not talk to any strangers!" she chirps, eyes already on the empty field behind them.

"OK, have fun, little blossom."

Tsubaki finds a patch of grass and sits cross-legged. She slows her breathing down and closes her eyes. Meditating truly was helping her immensely. Now, when she feels the itch, or feels a vision coming, she knows to pull inward still her mind. But what it didn't help was that voice. Rather, it made it worse.

_I'm just a manifestation of your inner psyche that can't quite handle the overload of information in your brain,_ the voice quips.

She was going crazy.

_You aren't crazy, this is actually quite a healthy way of coping with, well—_

"HOW YOUTHFUL!"

When Tsubaki snaps her eyes open, she is startled to see a blur of green quickly approaching her sister. In panic, she scrambles towards Sakura. Suddenly, there's a large, muscled man in a green—a green jumpsuit?—who grabs Sakura's hand.

"What an awesome display of youthfulness!" the man cries. He's actually crying, she realizes. "To be up at the crack of dawn so studiously training! How inspiring! What a wondrous example of the Power of Youth! Young blossom, I must know your name!"

"S-Saku—_n-no!_" She barks out suddenly, trying to pull her hand free. "I-I can't talk to strangers!"

"How foolish of me! Yes, cautious blossom, you mustn't speak to strange adults for there may lie danger!" The man nods his head vigorously. "Fear not, for I am Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey, Maito Gai!"

He seems harmless enough, Tsubaki thinks. Weird, but harmless.

_You'd be wrong._

Ignoring the thought, Tsubaki points at Sakura, then herself. "That's Sakura, and I'm her sister Tsubaki. Nice to meet you."

They learn that this field is where Gai usually completes his sets of one hundred sit-ups, two hundred push-ups, and three hundred burpees after his run around the entire village. He's a bit of an eccentric, but a genuinely sweet man. He somehow becomes part of their daily routine, and even Sakura starts getting caught up in some of his high energy workouts. They even invite him over breakfast, where he surprises them with his culinary expertise.

The green giant was a nice new constant in their life. The more positive adult influences in Sakura's life, Tsubaki figures, the better. Sakura was even calling him sensei, which actually prompted the man to pull Sakura into such a fierce hug Tsubaki swore she saw a sunset and crashing ocean waves behind them. Though, she immediately reconsiders the whole thing when one morning she sees Sakura wearing a _green jumpsuit._

"Big sis!" Sakura says with a thumbs up and smile eerily reminiscent of Gai. "I'm gonna be youthful, too!

Tsubaki is at a loss for words. How did he even know her size?

"C'mon, we're gonna be late!" Sakura is pulling Tsubaki to the door. "That's, like, un-youthful!"

A week later, Sakura doesn't _stop_ wearing the jumpsuit. Gai is proud and buys her two more sets.

When Tsubaki is at school, she seeks advice from Ume during their lunch hour.

"What do you mean she's wearing a green jumpsuit?"

"She's even—she's even _acting_ like him, Ume."

"It's probably just a phase. She might just think the guy's cool. He's a ninja, right?" Ume chews her rice thoughtfully. "Kids thinks ninja are cool."

Tsubaki gives her a flat stare.

"Seriously!" Ume rolls her eyes. "And I thought _I_ was the drama queen."

When Tsubaki takes Ume home after school, the girl immediately takes her words back.

"I'm so sorry to have doubted you, Tsu-chan." Then suddenly Ume pulls out the camera Tsubaki bought her for her birthday and tells Sakura to pose. Her kid sister actually does Gai's Nice Guy Pose.

"This is going to be something real great blackmail when Sa-chan's older," Ume whispers, shaking the polaroid. "You're welcome."

A week later Sakura is thankfully over whatever phase that was. She still insists on training with Gai during their morning sessions, and one morning before Gai arrives from his run Tsubaki asks why she likes to train with him so much.

Sakura gives her a serious look. "Because I've got to protect you, big sis!"

Before Tsubaki can tell her that's her job _not_ Sakura's, the two of them suddenly find themselves being pulled into a bone-crushing hug by a loudly weeping Gai.

* * *

At age six, her parents presented her with two schooling options: a ninja school, or a civilian school. Now, Tsubaki was doing the same for Sakura.

She looks down at the small girl who is in deep thought. "Mom was a ninja, too?"

"Mhm," she hums. "But it's up to you and what you want."

After a long moment, Sakura declares brightly, "If I want to protect you and my other precious people, I gotta become a strong ninja like Gai-sensei!"

She still can't quite believe her sister is to become a child soldier. Her mind flashes a vision of Sakura, much older, and capable of great medical feats and super strength. Tsubaki gives her a small smile. "I know you will, little blossom."

When Sakura starts school, Gai insists on walking her to school and completes his morning routine in disturbingly record time. Tsubaki manages to get permission to come into her morning class late.

Ahead of her, Sakura riding on Gai's shoulders excitedly asking him questions about his own experiences at the Academy. It's a sweet moment. Frowning, Tsubaki returns her attention back to Ume, who is walking next to her and tinkering with her camera "Why are you here?"

"Hey, you ass—ah, jerk," she finishes lamely, remembering Sakura is nearby. "She's like a little sister to me, too."

"You just want to skip math."

Ume smirks. "I cannot confirm nor deny that!"

When they're almost at the Academy gates, she tells Sakura, Tsubaki and Gai to pose for a picture. Gai places one hand on Tsubaki's head and uses the other flash a thumbs up. Still up on Gai's shoulders, Sakura throws her hands up in a peace sign.

Ume puts the camera down and points an accusing finger Tsubaki. "Stop looking emotionally constipated and smile!"

Tsubaki rolls her eyes, but quirks her lip for the photo.

After school both Gai and Ume join them for dinner and Sakura is suspiciously quiet about her first day. In fact, they all find the small child fiercely staring at everyone's foreheads.

"Something wrong, Sakura?" Tsubaki asks.

"Is my forehead big?"

Tsubaki frowns and she's briefly seized with a familiar vision of her little sister being bullied about her forehead until a small blonde girl comes to her aide. The same girl later gifts Sakura a red ribbon.

"There's nothing wrong with your forehead," Ume assures Sakura. "Why?"

"Some girls at school said it was big," she mumbles, looking down at her plate.

Gai jumps to his feet and shouts: "Come at once young one, I will teach you a move to show these wayward girls the Power of Youth!"

At the same time, Ume says: "You want me to beat their as—ah, uh, fight them?"

"What?" Sakura whips her head at them. "No, no it's fine! S'not like they're stronger than me!"

Days later, the bullying situation is handled, but not entirely like how Tsubaki saw it in her head. Sakura still gets the red ribbon, and the blond girl, Ino, becomes her first and best friend. Ino quickly becomes another constant in their lives.

But something makes Tsubaki stir when Sakura explains her fateful meeting with Ino. Instead of being saved by the girl, Ino actually jumps into what became a melee between Sakura and the three bullies (Gai was turning out to be at once a fantastic and terrible influence).

"I can't believe for those girls thought it was fair to fight three against one," Sakura mutters. "But Ino-chan and I handled it! _Shannarō!_"

_Something's not right. That wasn't supposed to happen._

Tsubaki smiles at her sister. "I'm proud of you, little blossom."

* * *

One late Sunday afternoon, Tsubaki is running errands with Sakura, Ino, and Ume. They end their trip by visiting the tea and dessert shop owned by Ume's mom, Nori. No matter how many times Tsubaki insisted on paying, or how many times she snuck a few bills into the cash register without Nori seeing her, she would inevitably leave the shop having spent nothing.

"Sa-chan, Ino-chan," Ume says suddenly, setting her cup of jasmine tea down. "My mom has some new dessert recipes from Tsu-chan that she's testing out. Do you both want to go try them?"

Sakura and Ino give Tsubaki wide-eyed, pleading looks. Tsubaki nods, and they both scampers off to the shop's kitchen.

"That kid has you whipped, Tsu-chan," Ume shakes her head sadly. "One puppy dog look and you're down for the count."

Tsubaki fixes her a look.

"When are your parents back, anyway?"

Tsubaki sighs. "I don't know."

"You know, our summer break is coming up," Ume says. "You should go look for them. Two weeks should be enough time."

"What about, Sakura? She's not on break yet."

"I never quite understood the logic behind the school calendars of ninja and civilian students," Ume props her arm on the table and rests her cheek against her awaiting hand. "Your uncle is still around, right? And that green ninja guy, too. And obviously, I'll keep an eye on her. You know, 'cause I'm considerate and great like that."

"I don't know." Tsubaki takes a small sip of her tea. The bitter green tea rolls over her tongue. She steeped it too long. "We've never been away from each other that long before."

"Whiiiiipped."

"Ass."

"Language, Tsubaki!"

* * *

Her uncle Akashi, Ume, Ino, and Sakura see her off. Gai was on a week-long mission, but made his formal goodbye to Tsubaki yesterday morning. There were plenty of tears and a painful slap to her shoulder (she belatedly realizes that was meant to be his version of an _affirming pat_).

She's pulls Sakura into a hug and ignores the wet spot developing on her shoulder. "I promise I'll be back, little blossom."

"You swear?"

"I swear." Her heat breaks a little. "Two weeks, and I'll be back."

She waves goodbye, and turns to the genin team escorting her. Because under eyes of civilian law she was still technically a minor travelling unaccompanied, she had to hire a genin team to escort her to the small trading village in the Land of Tea she hoped to find her parents. It was a strange and oddly nostalgic experience to have tweens not much older than her be considered capable escorts, though.

* * *

Dear little blossom,

I've arrived in the village safely, and I've got a solid lead on where Mom and Dad are. I may be home sooner than you think.

While travelling, I found a book on chakra techniques you might like might be of some good to use to you.

How has school been?

Love always,

Tsubaki

P.S. If you're fighting with Ino over something as trivial of the attention of an boy who doesn't even like either of you, rest assured I will knock some sense into the both of you.

* * *

Dear Big Sis,

How did you know about my crush? Are you spying on us? Who is your spy? Uncle Akashi? Ume-nee? Tell me!

Anyway, Ino is now my rival-in-love! Gai-sensei is really proud that I have a rival!

School's the same as always. I'm still the top girl in all my classes! You know, Sasuke-kun is the top boy, too? Aren't we perfect for each other?

What's the Land of Tea like? Ume-nee says they have more varieties of teas than any country. Can you bring some teas that we don't have here?

I miss you so much!

Hurry home soon,

Sakura

* * *

Dear Ume,

Please knock some sense into Sakura and Ino for me.

Also, I've found some teas you might like. Hope you are well.

Best,

Tsubaki

* * *

Dear Tsu,

Consider it done. Thanks for the teas!

You know, I think this Sasuke kid might actually be perfect for Sa-chan. I mean, they both clearly have sibling complexes.

Also, what the fuck is that "best" sign-off for? Sign-off like I'm your BEST friend, not your colleague, you ass.

Love,

Ume

* * *

Dear Big Sis,

Ume-nee is your spy isn't she? Anyway, you don't need her to convince me that I don't need Sasuke-kun. I don't think I even like him anymore. At lunch, he said that you and Gai-sensei were _weak_ and that there was no one cooler or stronger than his older brother! Can you believe it?!

Thank you for the book! I can't wait to read it.

I'm going to ask Gai-sensei to teach me some more taijutsu. We're starting our spars this week and I'm going to show Sasuke-kun who's weak!

Anyway, did you find mom and dad yet? I miss you so much!

Ino says hi, by the way (we aren't rivals in love anymore, just rivals. Gai-sensei thinks we have the makings of being eternal rivals!)

Love you so, so, much,

Sakura

* * *

There's plenty of arguing and tears, but Tsubaki manages to find herparents and bring them home after a week and five days. Tsubaki is still in awe that everything managed to work out. Of course her parents need to be off again in a few weeks for another long-term trading deal, but this time they promise to come home for short breaks instead of outright disappearing for over a year with only an odd letter here and there to let Tsubaki and Sakura know they were alive. In the meantime, they make up for missed time.

Incredibly, their parents also take very well to Gai. Her father for a strange reason reminds Gai of his "cool, hip, trendy" External Rival and so he challenges him to things like who could clean the dishes the quickest (it was Gai, but he also broke four of their plates). Tsubaki has never seen Sakura more happy. It feels good to have a full house again.

A week later, on an early Sunday morning, Tsubaki sets off to gather some ingredients for their family breakfast. Their parents were curious about the sweet thin pancakes she has decided to call _kurepu _(though when asked how she came up with a name like that, thinking about it makes the itching in her mind unbearable). At the stall next to her, she notices a boy with white hair, dark skin and round black framed glasses staring at her. He's clearly a ninja, but the symbol atop his forehead protector is a far more intricate design than the simple one's she's seen. In fact, it looks like a—

_A mandala,_ her mind supplies. _Damn, that must have taken time to actually carve._

She frowns. What was a foreign-nin doing here?

_There shouldn't be a village with that kind of forehead protector, you know._

The boy strolls up to her. "Hey. You. What's your name?"

"Can I help you?"

"Are you Sakura Haruno?"

"How—how do you know my sister?"

"You're—" he splutters. "No way! Sakura doesn't have a sister! Who are you, really?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do _you_ mean what do _I_ mean?" He adjusts his glasses. "You messed with the timeline!"

"Are you—?" Tsubaki stops short and swallows thickly. "Can you also see—?"

She passes out like all those times she did when she was a kid, but this time when she wakes up she's in another village. _Shit._

* * *

Taka-bro was going to kill him. Yep. Totally kill him. He wonders what his next life will be like after he's been murdered by Taka-bro. Maybe he'll be back home in his original timeline? Maybe then he'll be able to enjoy real gyms again. He misses his old gym _so much_. Sure his village did what they could in terms of recreating it, but nothing beats the original.

Hiroki feels the boy on his back stir slightly. He knocks him out again, just in case.

It'll be easy, he foolishly thought. Go in, save that curly hair kid, murder that old guy with all the bandages, and then dip while Koji does that sealing shit to cover their trail and it make it all look like a suicide. Easy.

But noooo, that grey-haired kid had to spot him. And then, uh, he help him he guesses. Damn, he did not realize that despite the old guy being dead, those weird ass mole ninjas would actually _fight_ in his honour. He remembers what Koji told him about how brutal it was being a mole ninja. He scrunches his nose. That old dude legit abused those mole guys and gals, and they still wanted to bat for him. He didn't get it. Anyway, thanks to the grey-haired bro (yeah, he thinks this guy can be his bro after helping him), he managed to escape unscathed. But then he panicked because, well, what if grey-haired bro snitches and traces him back to his village? Then him _and _his village is, like, screwed. So he knocked him out (which was not an easy thing to do) and took him.

But now Taka-bro was totally going to kill him for bringing in an outsider. He really hoped grey-haired bro wasn't a main player in this timeline. And wait, why was he stressing? Koji would have a solution! Totally! While Hiroki wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed outside of fighting, Koji definitely was. And Koji actually knew this timeline's story (he still didn't get how Koji knew, and his explanation about multiverses made things even more confusing). Anyway, this timeline was going to go all doomsday on them because some evil dude was going to control the moon or something. So while Hiroki's village was real Switzerland about everything—y'know attack only when provoked, don't engage with the other villages, trade in secret, blah, blah—they decided to get involved if that meant stopping the end of the the world.

Plus, Koji came up with a solid plan that was working for the most part. Yeah, maybe grey-haired bro posed a slight issue, but Koji would would come up with a solid solution. He was sure of it. So Hiroki is going to chill out. No need to freak out because—

Koji is here appears carrying a pink-haired girl of all things.

"Bro, _no_!"

* * *

It goes like this: Koji is feeling elated. He managed to kill Danzo and save Shisui (OK, Hiroki killed Danzo and saved Shisui, but it was _his _plan), and he's able to keep it all under wraps thanks to his genius sealing techniques (OK, so they weren't _his _sealing techniques, but still he applied them). He also managed to do it all _ahead_ of schedule.

He pushes his glasses up his face. He was proud. He did good. With Shisui alive, surely the Uchiha uprising would be quelled, and Itachi would not go off the deep-end and help Madara. This would makes things manageable when they implement phase two of the plan. He smirks. Ah, he was just on fire! Also, if he was honest, it was pretty cool being able to take a villain like Danzo (OK so, Hiroki took out Danzo, but he was _there_). Imagine if he could also meet a main character like Minato, or even—

His eyes spot pink and he stops in his tracks. There was no way Sakura Haruno could be around his age. And yet, at a small stand stood Sakura Haruno. Or so he thought. A little bit of this and that happens and the next thing he knows, he's high-tailing out of the village with who is decidedly _not_ Sakura in his arms before shit hits the fan. He's at his meeting point and then shit, of course, _really_ hits the fan when Koji realizes that Hiroki was carrying _Shin, _aka the terminally ill kid who's Sai's adoptive brother, on his back.

Hiroki looks equally horrified to see not-Sakura in his arms. "Bro, _no!_"

_"Me?"_ His voice is several octaves higher than normal. "What about _you_?"

"Taka-bro is going to _kill_ us!"

"I—ugh, we need to go, Hiroki! Now!"

"Like, really kill us! Like, we better hope the next life is better than this, bro!"

* * *

Hiruzen does not know what to think. His oldest friend was dead by an apparent suicide after failing to defeat Uchiha Shisui. From the Yamanaka's account after reading the boy's memories, it turned out that Danzo had his own plans in place to handle the Uchiha uprising and attacked Shisui. He was actually going to take the boy's eyes until he was mortally wounded and decided he would rather end his own life rather than face defeat by the hands of an Uchiha.

The official story was that Danzo fell suddenly and deathly ill. There is no state funeral, as requested by Danzo's family. It was another lie, but Hiruzen could not bear to celebrate the life of someone he no longer recognized.

ROOT was immediately disbanded for the final time, and Hiruzen was working on reintegrating those ninjas into Konoha's official forces.

Soon things calm down, but still, Hiruzen wonders. Something about the entire situation feels off. He knew Shisui was strong, but surely not stronger than his oldest friend. Or perhaps Danzo underestimated the young Uchiha? He almost wonders if there were other players involved.

* * *

Ume was no stranger to the differences civilians faced compared to their and ninja counterparts. Civilians could move around a little more freely than ninja, sure. They weren't asked as many questions when they wanted to move to another village (so long as that it wasn't an enemy village). You could make a decent living in fields that did not require you murder someone. But when it came down to worth, she felt as though most civilians were worthless to this village. It truly felt as though these ninjas were protecting each other and the idea of this village, rather than its_ entire_ citizenry. Don't even get her started on the utter lack of political power civilians held. It was only those select few with an obscene amount of wealth that held any sway, and that was only because they were the reason for this village's infrastructure.

But for most of her life, Ume just went with it with no questions asked. She was going to be fine anyway. She would inherit her mother's tea and dessert shop, which would allow her to live very comfortably. If she kept her head down, stayed out of the way, she would be able to live a quiet, decent life. But then her best friend goes missing and she's reminded of just how unjust their village was and how little it valued its ordinary citizenry (she could not imagine how those who were poor and disenfranchised even managed to survive in this village).

A few years ago, she heard that some clan heir went missing, and after what felt like the entire village springing into action to go and look for her, it was revealed that some foreign-nin were behind it. Now, her best friend goes missing and the village's answer is that she likely just ran away. OK, sure, so Tsubaki wasn't a toddler that went missing, or the heir to a prominent ninja clan, but still! A young woman goes missing out of nowhere should spring _some _concern. Did Tsubaki have to be the heir to one of those ultra-wealthy civilian families for people to give a shit?

Ume's belief is all but concerned when even after that green ninja guy tries to help, all they got was police asking her and Tsubaki's parents if Tsubaki had any reason to run away, or the suggestion that like her parents, Tsubaki caught their travel bug and went out to see the world. Ume wanted to snort at that. As if her Tsubaki would just somehow miraculously avoid this village's entire border screening process on her way out of here.

Worst of all is how little Sakura takes it. Her big sister going missing breaks the kid. She had never seen the kid cry more than these past few weeks.

Then when full year passes and Tsubaki's parents get a gravestone for closure, Ume is certain that this village simply did not give one shit about its civilians. Will of Fire? She has to stifle a laugh whenever she hears that being uttered.

* * *

Kakashi does not know what to do. It was almost too quiet. Gai hadn't challenged him for three days now. He knew Gai didn't have a mission, and Kakashi was pretty the Hokage gave Gai full access to his own mission files. This happened once before, about a year ago. Gai mysteriously vanished for an entire week. It was possibly the longest the man left Kakashi alone. It was truly blissful. Kakashi spent that week wandering around the village without a worry that Gai would spring from out of nowhere with a challenge. He even went to parts of town he knew Gai frequented.

Then the week passed and Gai was back with no explanation. Kakashi prayed for that wondrous week free of Gai to return, and now that it was looked to be back he could not help but be a tad bit curious about what was going on with the green beast.

On the fourth day of his freedom, Kakashi felt something suspiciously like concern. No, it was not concern. He was simply curious. Between training, begging the Hokage for a genin team, stalking Kakashi, and missions, Kakashi really had no idea what Gai did during his free time. So, for the sake of scientific curiosity, he goes looking for Gai. He is surprised to find him, of all places, at Konoha's cemetery placing a set of camellia flowers on a gravestone.

Feeling as though he was intruding, Kakashi quickly makes himself scarce.

A week later, Gai is back with no explanation and his challenges are somehow issued with more vigour than before.

* * *

**A/N:** As you can tell, this is was inspired by Shana the Short's _Where the Heart Is_. _The Clan of Samsara,_ too. Both are amazing reads!


End file.
